Daybreak
by thumbelina0719
Summary: What if Edward's secrets were far deeper than being a vampire? Will Bella figure them out, and can they work past them? Alternate version of twilight, canon pairings, mostly human, rated T for some sex and mature themes
1. Chapter 1

Pre-emptive authors note:  
This is my version of twilight, set in an alternate universe where Edward has more to hide and more conflicts of interest than just being a vampire. Will Bella ever guess his secrets? Will she end up with him or Jacob, or neither? Will Edward be able to save her?  
Canon pairings eventually, mostly human…I have big plans for this fanfic…so stay tuned.

Disclaimer: I did not write Twilight, I do not own any of these characters. Stephenie Meyer has so generously let me play with them.

Prologue:

He removed his lips from mine long enough to breathlessly inquire, "Are you sure you want to do this?" His held me tight against his body, and I could feel how he was straining against his zipper....which pressed against me in just the right spot.

It was a colossally bad idea in just about every way, but this had been a long time coming. The ball was already rolling, and my instincts took over as I moaned out a yes. My heart was racing and my entire body ached for him. I kissed him more furiously and began to tremble as he undid the first button on my jeans.

With the first touch below the belt buckle, I completely lost myself in time. Our bodies moved together as one in the July evening heat, our motion accelerating as we came closer and closer to utter bliss.

.............

A few hours later I awoke, alone in the dark, and with a splitting headache. I quickly dressed and gathered up my things. I took a quick trip around the house, but all of the rooms were dark. He was gone. It was not yet morning, and I already regretted it. I closed the door, got in my car, and drove away from there. I didn't look back.

Chapter One: First Sight

Ten days later....

I finished reading the last page of _Order of the Phoenix_ and slammed the book shut. Even though I had already read the book several times since it came out in June, I had reread the book in its 870-page entirety again over the last two days. It wasn't that I was one of those Harry Potter-obsessed nuts-okay, maybe I was a little like that-but more that there hadn't been much else to do this summer. My four best friends had graduated from Forks High School, and three of them had gone on a cross country road trip to celebrate their last summer together before college. I stayed behind, working as a swim instructor at the community center pool, taking weekend road trips to colleges with my mom, and growing close to Carlisle Cullen-the other member of the fabulous fivesome left behind for the summer.

I glanced at my cell phone. 4:10. And still no word. I stood up and stretched. I reached my arms up high, and then bent over towards my toes. I rolled my neck around-it was stiff from reading all day. I inspected my appearance in the mirror, and decided to brush my hair. 4:14. I was going to give them until 4:30, and then I would call Emmett. Or maybe Rosalie, since I just knew Emmett would be driving the last leg. I happened to glance out the window, and my face broke into a grin. Carlisle was pulling up outside.

I slipped on shoes and ran downstairs before he could honk. It was one of the rare, warm, sunny days in Northwestern Washington, and I relished the chance to wear my flip flops. As soon as I graduated next year I would be headed to California for college, hopefully to UCLA, but really to any school that would take me, although I was facing heavy pressure from my friends and family to stay in state. My mom wanted me to go to UW-it was a good school after all, but with instate tuition. Carlisle and Emmett McCarthy were attending UW in the fall. Rosalie Hale and Jasper Whitlock would be across the state at Washington State, and the sports rivalry smack talk had already become unbearable.

As I stepped outside, Carlisle killed the engine to his purple Integra and opened the car door. He leaned across the top of the door and took off his sunglasses. Carlisle was tall, with dark brown eyes, blond-streaked brown hair, and olive toned skin, and very well-muscled. He had gained almost 20 more pounds of muscle this summer, which he was eager to show off to our friends. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Carlisle was the brains of the group, but he was. He had stayed this summer to complete a summer school research program that got him almost a full semester of college credit. Carlisle was going to be a doctor one day, and he wanted to go into surgery. I had no doubt that he amount to everything he dreamed.

"Hey Bella!" he called out, sounding excited.

"Hey Carlisle!" I called back. "Have you heard from them? I thought they would be here by now."

"They are, Bells," he assured me. "Just heard from Emmett, and he said that he tried to call you several times, but your phone must have been off."

I glanced down at the phone in my hand. It was most definitely not off. I held it up to Carlisle, and shrugged. I was a little angry that I hadn't been contacted...I hadn't seem Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper in almost two months, but Carlisle's explanation sounded reasonable. My cell phone was known to be flaky from time to time.

"Anyway, they are headed over to the Rain Drop now, and I said I would come by to make sure you were alive and pick you up." Carlisle grinned.

How apropos that we should go to the Rain Drop Cafe for our end of summer reunion. Our group of friends had breakfasted there every Friday morning before school, splitting two gigantic carrot-apple muffins between us and hyped up on caramel lattes that we felt mature drinking, although we really didn't need the caffeine. I had missed this routine over the summer, and even tried to convince two of my co-workers, Jessica and Angela, with whom I got along well, to join me, but it didn't really stick. The Rain Drop was our place, the fabulous fivesome, although I was pretty sure we had only ever been there for breakfast. I didn't have any idea what kind of lunch/dinner food they had. I wasn't sure if they were even open.

"Carlisle, is the Rain Drop even open this time of day?" I asked, climbing into his passenger seat, and then added "especially on a Sunday..."

"You've never been there for dinner?" he answered my question with one of his own. I shook my head. "Well, they are definitely open, and they have a delicious Cobb salad with your name written all over it."

Carlisle had barely edged his car into the parking space when Rosalie and Emmett came hurtling out of nowhere towards the car. Rosalie and I hugged, and Emmett and Carlisle did the handshake back-pound guy hug thing. Then we switched, and Emmett and Carlisle wrapped myself and Rosalie up in big bear hugs. Emmett, who was in constant competition with Carlisle for the buffest body, was taller and thinner than Carlisle after the summer, and his dark curls had not lightened in the sun the way Carlisle's had. Rosalie looked the same-long, perfect blonde hair and a body like a swimsuit model. They both looked much paler than I remembered, sick almost, perhaps a product of them being tired, and that I was used to seeing myself and Carlisle-and we had gotten a lot of sun this summer.

"Where's Jasper?" I asked.

"Oh, he won't be joining us," Rosalie said with a sneer, not bothering to disguise the contempt in her voice. She shoved open the cafe door, not bothering to hold it for anyone else. Carlisle looked alarmed, perhaps wondering if they had fought on the road, but I knew where Rosalie was going with this. I had heard it all before. "He's off to see his precious Alice, of course". Rosalie detested Alice, Jasper's girlfriend of five years. I wasn't really sure why, nobody had ever told me a convincing story. I know they had all gone to middle school together-this was before I was friends with them. And EVERYONE knew that Rosalie had a thing for Emmett (except Emmett of course) so it couldn't be that she was jealous of Alice. Alice did not go to our high school, so I had only met her on a few occasions. Jasper knew that her and Rosalie did not get along, so he kept them apart. Alice came off as a bitch, but only to Rosalie. I didn't really know her, so I couldn't judge.

"Relax Rose, Jasper hasn't seen his girlfriend in seven weeks, almost eight. He's seen us every day," soothed Emmett, pulling out a chair for her. Maybe he was more aware of her feelings than I thought. Who only knew what had happened with two months on the road together.

"I KNOW, Emmett," Rosalie snapped back. "You know how I know? Because I had to hear him on the phone every single night professing his love to that little freak, and had him remind me EVERY SINGLE DAY of just how long we had been gone. He hasn't seen Bella or Carlisle in that long either, you know," she added.

"Rosalie, it's fine. We totally understand. I'm sure we'll see him later tonight," I assured her, wanting to avoid a tantrum. I was happy to see them and didn't want to waste time being angry. I glanced at Carlisle for backup, but he was staring into space.

I looked in the direction that he was looking, unsure if he was looking at anything or just spacing out. And then, I saw him. He was tall, but not too tall...about 6'1''. He was slender, but definitely toned and muscular. His messy, bronze hair that was gelled into a perfect disarray, with light but beautiful blue eyes and a strong jaw line as the dominant features on his tan, god-like face. I couldn't help but stare. After a few seconds, his eyes caught mine, and they seemed to light up. Impossible-I had never seen him before, and I don't think I would be able to forget perfection incarnate. I felt a surge of adrenaline rush through my body, and time seemed to slow down.

I felt Rosalie's elbow dig into my side. She tilted her head towards the hottie and raised her eyebrows in an attempt to subtly point him out to me. _Thanks Rosalie, I'm already on it_, I thought sarcastically. The boy maintained eye contact with me and his mouth curved into a smile, and he took a step in my direction.

Carlisle raised his hand and waved at the beautiful boy, who was quickly making his way in our direction. I couldn't believe that Carlisle knew this guy-he had been holding out on me. I guess I deserved it, I had been holding out on him too-and mine was worse than simply knowing a male model who liked plain brunettes. Before I could ask Carlisle anything, the male perfection was upon us and Carlisle stood up and grabbed his hand, and they swung each other into the guy hug.

They released each other, and the boys turned back to us. The hot guy turned his eyes right back to me (yes!), as Carlisle introduced us. The boy extended his hand to Emmett first, then Rosalie, and then held his hand out to me. I took it, and felt electricity run up my arm and to the rest of my body. I was so entranced that I barely heard Carlisle's words, "Emmett, Rosalie, and Bella, I'd like you to meet my favorite cousin, Edward."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Open Book

"Emmett, Rosalie, Bella," Edward repeated our names in turn as he shook our hands. His voice was so sexy that I think my insides melted a little-and that was before he said _my_ name.

"Carlisle has told me so much about all of you guys." He paused for a minute and looked pensive. "You all have another friend, too, right?"

I was waiting for Carlisle to answer, but Edward was looking at me. Everyone else followed his eyes towards me, and I answered nervously, "Jasper." My voice did not betray my body's nervousness, so I added. "Um, he usually hangs out with us, but he's been gone with Rosalie and Emmett all summer, so he went to see his girlfriend Alice."

Edward smiled at me again. I was meanwhile racking my brain, trying to remember if Carlisle had ever mentioned him before. I had that tip of the tongue feeling that I had heard about Edward-of course not that he was so breathtakingly gorgeous- but I couldn't remember any details. Oh crap, Edward was asking another question that seemed to be directed only at me, and I hadn't heard a word of it.

"I'm sorry? Didn't catch that." I prompted him to repeat his question.

Edward laughed, which made his eyes light up. His grin was mischievous, and Rosalie and Emmett's smirks made me believe I was missing something. "So Bella," Edward continued, looking deep into my eyes as if he was searching for something at the bottom, "I was just asking where your boyfriend was today."

I felt my cheeks grow very warm, and knew that they must be a deep shade of pink. I wish that I didn't blush so easily, but it wasn't just that-any strong emotion I felt was always written right across my face. Edward's question made it seem as though he was interested in me too, so at least my painfully obvious infatuation was not unrequited. I had never had a boyfriend. Earlier this summer, the answer to that question was not quite so cut and dried, but now, I was completely unattached. I paused while I tried to think of a coy way to let Edward know that.

Carlisle, interpreting my silence as extreme discomfort, tried to throw me a rope. "Yeah Edward, it kind of loses some meaning when you have to repeat yourself. So why are you in Forks, besides finding seventeen year old girls to hit on?" His tone grew condescending on the latter half of his question, which annoyed me, but only a little. Carlisle was a good judge of character, and VERY protective-maybe Edward was a total player. It was the 'seventeen year old' part that irritated me. I had no idea how old Edward was, but he looked about nineteen....twenty one at the absolute oldest. I was only seventeen for another five weeks, anyway.

Just then, our server came by and temporarily distracted us. She seemed more than happy to gape at Edward while we scrambled to decide our orders. Emmett was the only one who had even looked at the menu, so he started. He ordered the sandwich with the most meat on it, with a side of cheese fries. Not to be outdone, Carlisle ordered the same. Rosalie got her standard Chicken Caesar, and I hurriedly ordered the Cobb salad Carlisle had mentioned earlier. Edward declined, saying he had already eaten. Carlisle gave Edward a strange look.

Edward returned Carlisle's look with a slight eyebrow raise and returned to the previous subject. "Seventeen, huh? Carlisle, why are all the beautiful girls you introduce me to jail bait?" Edward chided. My temper was really starting to flare up. My jaw clenched, and I could feel my eyes narrow minutely. I didn't like being discussed as jail bait, beautiful or otherwise. Carlisle looked equally annoyed, but while he was choosing his words, Rosalie interrupted.

"I'm eighteen!" she volunteered. I had only listened to her talk about how hung up she was on Emmett every day for the last two years, but she wouldn't be Rosalie if she didn't need constant male attention. Rosalie, being the beautiful blonde swim suit model that she is, suffered a serious self-esteem hit from Emmett's apparent lack of interest in her, and needed affirmation from every other boy she met to compensate.

Edward smiled, looking a little smug, and turned to Rosalie. "Rosalie," he asked, "where are you going to be in the fall?" His tone of voice had changed slightly from when he was talking to me. I didn't want to delude myself into thinking that he would be more interested in me than Rosalie-she was after all the most stunning person I had ever met in real life-but it seemed that he wasn't very interested in what her answer might be. I thought some more about it, and with all that Carlisle had supposedly talked about us, there was a good chance that he already knew the answer.

"I'm starting at Washington State," she replied, sounding hopeful.

"What about you, Edward?" I found my voice and regained control of the conversation.

Edward turned back to me and answered, "Well, I just transferred into U-Dub from Berkley. I've been in Seattle all summer taking classes, but in the fall I will be splitting my time between classes there and my internship right here in Forks."

"What is your internship for? I mean, what are you studying?" I asked Edward, stumbling over my question.

"Well, I'm double majoring in math and forensics," Edward replied. Wow-good looking AND smart. I resisted the urge to look over my shoulder to see if there was a smarter, more attractive, girl named Bella behind me that Edward seemed so interested in. "My internship is....complicated. It's basically consulting, with a little security and some...surveillance...or I guess observational research is a better term for it."

That sounded fancy, and high powered, but I really had no idea what he had just said. He either thought that I wouldn't understand what he was doing-which I didn't- or HE wasn't completely sure yet OR he was being deliberately vague. I stole a glance at Carlisle and was not surprised to see him looking...not happy. I tried to determine his mental state from his face, and I settled on disbelief. Of what I was not sure, but Carlisle's response to Edward's description gave me my first insight into his seemingly adverse reaction to his cousin. Edward was a little SKETCHY. Unlike Rosalie, I tried to avoid drama like the plague, but somehow Edward's evasiveness did not deter me. It only served to make me more curious.

Our food arrived just then, and Edward stood up. "I will leave you all to your reunion dinner. It was so nice to meet all of you." He and Emmett did the guy handshake (how did they ALL know how to do that?). He kissed Rosalie's hand. He shook Carlisle's hand the normal way and said "I will see you around, Carlisle. And I guess I will be seeing a LOT of you around, Bella. I'll be getting to know the mystery woman," smiling and giving me the slightest wink and he kissed my hand, too.

My eyes followed him to the door. The door had barely shut before Emmett began teasing me. I blushed furiously and protested, but didn't really hear much of it. I was in disbelief myself. Disbelief that Edward seemed interested in me, disbelief that he thought I was a mystery woman- Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, and Carlisle teased me constantly for my face being an open book and being the worse liar ever. I was in disbelief that this beautiful boy was going to be in Forks, spending time with me.

Rosalie joined in Emmett's laughter; thankfully she wasn't holding a grudge that Edward paid more attention to me than her. Only Carlisle seemed above the good natured teasing, and he seemed discontented. I could feel his eyes on me, but when I looked up, he looked away. His expression gained resolve and he smiled, and looked around to all of the friends.

"Yeah, it's too bad my cousin couldn't stick around for dinner. But we all know the only thing HE wanted for dinner," Carlisle paused and inclined his head to indicate that he was talking about me, "was not on the menu!" Rosalie giggled and Emmett almost fell out of his chair laughing, but I was suddenly frozen in my seat.

Carlisle's joke was far raunchier than any I had ever heard him tell, but was a seemingly innocent sexual innuendo. To everyone except me. I finally remembered what I had heard about Edward and his family from Carlisle. That they were estranged from Carlisle's family. That Carlisle's father and Edward's mother had had the same messed up childhood, but that Edward's mother married a weirdo and was raising Edward to be the same way. He said that his parents had never told him the truth; but that he eventually figured it out-Edward and his family were some sort of cannibals! I swallowed nervously as the full meaning of what Carlisle had said hit me. Still, Edward seemed so normal-that just didn't seem to make sense.

I waited until the conversation took a different turn, and until Carlisle was fully engrossed in his six-inch high sandwich, before I slid into my pocket the piece of paper that Edward had slipped into my hand when kissing it goodbye. I already had a good idea of what was on there-and despite Carlisle's weird behavior, I would be seeing more of Edward. Carlisle and his judgmental eyes were moving to Seattle in less than two weeks, and then Edward and I would be alone in Forks, uninterrupted.


	3. Chapter 3: Phenomenon

Chapter 3: Phenomenon

**All of the characters and a few of the lines belong to Stephenie Meyer.  
A/N: Edward is not really a cannibal. Carlisle really had no idea what he was talking about...but he will find out soon enough! (And he will soon be out of Bella and Edwards way)  
Sorry for the long time with no new chapter, finals were kicking my butt and this was a long chapter and kind of hard to write, and I'm still not crazy about it..but there will be some excitement and new characters Chapter 4, and not too long until you get an Edward POV chapter!**

Besides Mike Newton in the 7th grade, I'd never been on a real date. Besides the mysterious stranger that I met over the summer, I'd never had a real kiss. I shuddered at the memory, trying to shut it all out. It had been nearly a month, and I had heard nothing from the tall dark stranger who had appeared in my life this summer, seduced me and never called again. Two weeks ago, I had met Edward, and I stopped waiting on pins and needles for the phone to ring. I thought that I might have a fresh chance at love...something that had seemed to elude me thus far. I wasn't a confident, sexy blonde like Rosalie, or a popular jocky nice guy like Emmett, or an intense romantic like Jasper. Carlisle was the mature one who couldn't be distracted from his career plans. I didn't know where I fit in. Before June, boys didn't know I existed.

I wasn't sure what Edward wanted or where our relationship would end up. Since I met him two weeks ago, it seemed like he was around nearly every day. He only hung around me in our group. He did ask more questions of me than he did any of my friends, and he looked at me differently when I answered. It was as though he already knew everything about my friends, and my answers were the only ones that surprised him. I knew this wasn't true, Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett had never met him, and to my knowledge he barely knew Carlisle. He didn't ask me out or really make any moves on me. It did feel like he was always touching me, although it was never overtly intentional. Every time his skin touched mine, I felt electricity run through my body...and I knew he felt it too. Every time he spoke to me, he stared into my eyes as if he was looking for answers. And when he spoke to me, it was always as if we were the only two people in the room.

We were never actually the only two people in the room. Edward only showed up when my other friends were around. His relationship with Carlisle was friendly, but I could see the strain. Neither of them made any more cryptic comments around me, but they often gave each other knowing looks. If mind-reading were possible, I would think that they were having telepathic conversations. I kept the mood light, but inside I was dying of curiousity. Edward Cullen had some secrets that he was keeping at all costs, and the normally honest, open Carlisle was being evasive at best. For all of his interest in me and our friends, Edward refrained from answering any questions about himself.

As for me, I was biding my time. Tomorrow, Emmett and Carlisle were making the three hour drive to school in Seattle. The fabulous fivesome, plus Edward, were all meeting for one last breakfast at the Rain Drop to see them off. Rosalie and Jasper were leaving the day after tomorrow. Edward already had an apartment in Seattle and did not need to make a trip up there until at least next week, when classes officially began. That left me alone in Forks with my goregous enigma for nearly a week, and I liked those odds.

Falling asleep was hard, because I was both sad to see my best friends go, but excited about spending time with Edward. When I finally did sleep, it was quick and dreamless, and before I knew it, I was awakening to my phone ringing. I opened my eyes and could tell by the sunlight coming through my blinds that it was late morning, probably after 10:00.

I grabbed the phone, hoping it was Edward, but thinking that it was more realistically Rosalie. I squinted to see the name on the Caller ID, and was shocked to see that I was wrong on both counts. I debated internally for a few seconds, and then curiosity won over and I flipped open the receiver at the last possible minute.

"Hello?" I said into the receiver.

"Morning Sleeping Bella," said an amused Carlisle on the other end. Nothing got past Carlisle, least of all sleepy voices and chances to make lame puns.

I tried to play it off. "What are you talking about? I've been up for hours."

"Since what time, would you say?" he teased. "Do you even know what time it is now?"

"10:23?" I guessed.

"I could see how you would think that, since you were so busy this morning that you probably forgot to open your blinds to let all the light in. However, its actually five minutes after 11:00...." he told me.

A glance at my alarm clock-unused as of late- confirmed Carlisle's words. "Crap! I can't BELIEVE I slept this late!" I exclaimed. I had a delayed reaction realization of the full meaning of Carlisle's statement. He wasn't just guessing about the blinds being closed. "You are right outside, aren't you?" I peeked through the blinds as I asked. Sure enough, Carlisle was outside, in the passenger seat of Emmett's Jeep. They waved at me. "Give me ten minutes, will you?" I pleaded into the receiver. "I'm SO sorry to make you late today!"

Carlisle must have handed the phone to Emmett, because he was the one who answered, "Don't sweat it, Bells. You KNOW Rosalie is way more behind than you, and she has been up since 6:00 packing. I'm going to leave Carlisle with you and go pick her up, if that's okay..."

I pulled the string to open the blinds all the way, and gave them the thumbs up. "Carlisle, you know where the spare key is, right?" Emmett nodded, and disconnected as Carlisle grabbed his phone, stepped out of the car and headed straight for the flowerpot. I ran to the bathroom, washed my face and brushed my teeth. I brushed my hair and decided that it was impossible, and pulled it up into a ponytail. It was supposed to rain all day anyways. I pulled on my favorite jeans, and a light blue V-neck long-sleeve shirt. My friends always complimented me on how I looked in the color blue. When I moved to California, this would be the type of outfit that I would wear in the dead of winter, I was sure, but in Forks, it was acceptable in August. I tied my shoes and started toward the stairs. I wasn't sure how being alone in the car with Carlisle would be. We had not been alone together since Edward's arrival in Forks, and he had barely spoken to me. Carlisle and I had grown so close over the summer, it felt weird to not be talking. I had kept a huge secret from him all summer without him seeming to notice, but his behavior now was how I suspected he would have acted if he had found out what I had been keeping from him. Perhaps it was purely coincidental that he started behaving this way when Edward showed up. Or maybe it was about Rosalie and Emmett's behavior since they came back from their trip and had nothing to do with me. Either way, I was about to find out.

I stepped into the kitchen to find Carlisle leafing lazily through the newspaper.

"You know, thats an old one," I told him.

"Yeah, I thought I would bone up on history before school started," he teased. "Ready to go? Can I drive?"

"Yes, I am ready," I answered him, "and absolutely not," I continued, grabbing my keys off the hook and holding them behind my back.

Carlisle fake-pouted. "Fine then, I guess we'll still make it there by nightfall." He drove like a maniac, but then again he had a sports car. My truck couldn't get faster than about 55 mph on a good day. He held the front door open for me.

I stepped past him and rolled my eyes. "Yeah Carlisle, thats why_ I_ have never had any speeding tickets," I retorted, locking the door.

"Alright Bella, have it your way. But we have to go pick up Edward."

"Okay," I agreed, not wanting to sound too eager. I was shocked that Edward was even invited and more importantly that Carlisle seemed to be the one who had invited him. "Where does he live, exactly?" I asked, unlocking the door to my truck.

"He lives just outside of town, to the north," Carlisle told me, "its about fifteen minutes. Take a right when you get out of your neighborhood." He didn't say anything else after that. His lighthearted jokes had encouraged me, and my anxiety about being in the car with him had disappeared momentarily. As Forks passed us by and the signs of civilization grew farther and farther between, the minutes slipped by, and I struggled to think of something to say. I wasn't used to filling awkward silences. Rosalie was the chatty one, and Emmett made jokes. Carlisle was the leader of our group, and he was calling the shots in this non-conversation. I wondered if he regretted showing me where Edward lived.

After exactly fifteen minutes, the last ten of which were nothing but woods, we turned left onto a small, unpaved road with no street sign. I had driven past this road every time I left town, but had never noticed it before. All I could see on either side and in front of me were trees, and absolutely no other signs of life. I opened my mouth, but Carlisle cut me off. "Trust me, this road is nearly impossible to find, but we are in the right place. Just a few miles right on this road," he assured me, still not naming the road we were on. Most likely because he didn't know. He was right. Three miles later, the road dead ended, and I gasped at what I saw.

I'd been so preoccupied with the awkward turn my friendship with Carlisle had taken that I didn't form any expectations of what type of residence would lie at the end of this road. In reality, the timeless beauty of the relic mansion (and that was an understatement-palace seemed more appropriate, however melodramatic) fit perfectly at the dead end of a secluded drive next to the river. However, a million dollar, hundred year old mansion was the last thing I expected to see. It was not like any other houses in Forks, and it was the last place I would expect a college guy-I still didn't know Edwards exact age-to live.

I parked the truck on autopilot, still staring at the house. After a minute, I realized Carlisle was looking at me. "Ostentatious house, isn't it?" he asked.

I bit my lip at his tone. "It's beautiful. He LIVES here? Does he OWN this place?"

Before Carlisle could answer, we heard Edward calling "Hey Carlisle, is that you? Thanks for coming to get me," his voice got clearer as he appeared from around the side of the house, "my car is still up on the jacks...." his voice trailed off as he saw my truck. His face betrayed a confused expression for just a split second, and then he smiled in my direction.

"You'd think with all that money, he could afford a second car," Carlisle muttered under his breath.

"Was I supposed to hear that?" I asked him, also under my breath. Carlisle looked embarassed. "I take it, he owns the house, then?"

Carlisle nodded, and murmured "trust fund baby" as Edward approached my truck.

"It's unlocked!" I called to him, and he climbed in the back seat.

"Bella," he addressed me first with his soul-melting crooked smile, "Carlisle," still warm, but a little less excitedly. "Bella, I'm sorry you had to come all the way out here to get me. I wouldn't have asked if I had known you were driving," he paused and then added, with a mischevious look in his eye, "I'd hate to make your truck exert any extra effort."

I turned around to the backseat and narrowed my eyes at him. Considering he and Carlisle did not seem to get along all that well, they were almost exactly alike. "My truck is a senior citizen and deserves some respect. It could probably be your car's, whatever year it is, grandfather. And I was going to ask you what was wrong with your car, but now that you have disrespected its elder, I don't care anymore," I teased.

Edward smirked knowingly, before saying, "Just drive Bella, we want to get to the Raindrop by nightfall." Exactly what his cousin had said not twenty minutes ago. Maybe Edward was Carlisle's evil twin. "Not that you care," he continued, "but my car is fine. Just changing the oil to keep her running like she is brand new. Which she isn't. She's only young enough to be your truck's daughter...and that is if your truck had a teenage pregnancy."

Carlisle snorted, and after a half second internal debate, I decided to ignore him. His integra was one of the nicest cars in the Forks High parking lot; his family was one of the most well-off families in Forks. "Wow, you like the cars-are-people analogy. So what kind of car do you have, and what year?"

I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw another knowing smile cross Edward's face. "My car is a 1971," he said carefully, "but she's in perfect condition. Only 100,000 miles on her, and I have kept her up well. I'll show you later." He didn't actually tell me what kind of car he drove, but I suppose I wouldn't have grasped the full meaning anyway. I could pick out an expensive brand of car by name, but beyond that I wasn't much use.

The ride back into Forks and to the Raindrop continued much the same way. Edward asked me questions and I bared my soul, answering in way more detail than I would have given anyone else. He just had that effect on me. I asked him questions that elicited polite but vague, mysterious responses from him and mutters under the breath from Carlisle that were too low for me to understand. I didn't need super hearing or mind reading abilities to figure out the general idea of his comments. Quick, stolen glances in the mirror at Edward showed that they weren't lost on him, either. I couldn't believe he was acting like this.

I never thought I would be so relieved to deal with Rosalie and Emmett drama, but after that car ride, I was ready for anything they could throw at me. As I pulled my truck into the parking spot next to Emmett's jeep, I could tell that they weren't going to disappoint me. I couldn't make out what they were saying to each other, but with all of the arm waving and the fact that I could hear their voices through two thick vehicle walls, they were clearly arguing. I got out of the truck and rapped on the passenger window at Rosalie. She looked at me and waved, and motioned for us to go on. She turned back to Emmett and put her hand on the door handle while speaking more softly to him.

Glancing around the parking lot, I saw Jasper's grey Honda Civic, but no sign of him. Edward followed close behind me as I walked toward the door, while Carlisle leaned against my truck waiting for Emmett and Rosalie. I stared back at them for a second, wondering if I should have stayed in bed this morning. Despite Emmett's nonchalant attitude about going to school "close by", today was still a goodbye, and I wasn't sure why all of my friends seemed to be on their worst behavior. As I was contemplating this, I felt a rush of air against my right side, and someone strong picked me up and whisked me the eight feet to the sidewalk as if I was ten pounds instead of one hundred and ten. I turned to the someone, unsurprisingly Edward, to protest, and then saw the shiny yellow car pulling around the circle right where I had been standing.

"Didn't want you to hold up traffic, Bella," said Edward. I glanced at the driver of the car to wave an apology, and saw Jasper grinning at me from the passenger seat. I realized with horror that Alice was driving and contemplated going home and going back to bed. "Look away, Bella," warned Edward.

I was confused and turned to him to ask what he meant, but saw out of the corner of my eye Jasper moving in to kiss Alice. I smiled at Edward, feeling a little awkward that he had saved me from embarrassment twice in 30 seconds. At least he noticed the world around us...this was not the first time I was unobservant when around Edward.

"She's not staying, you don't have to worry about her and Rosalie going at it. Jasper spent last night with her to say goodbye, and she's just dropping him off," Edward murmured to me.

I glanced at him dumbfounded. I really was easy to read. It was as though he literally heard exactly what I was thinking. I opened my mouth and then closed it. "How?" I asked and then paused and changed my question, realizing something else, "How did you know Jasper spent last night with Alice?"

Edward's face was smooth. "I have my sources," he said, shrugging innocently. He inclined his head toward Alice's car. They had finished their goodbye and Jasper was climbing out. I followed his eyes back to the car. Alice nodded at Edward and I, and Edward smiled his dazzling crooked smile at her. I was instantly jealous, thought I had no reason to be. Alice was deeply in love with Jasper, who would END Edward if he even looked at her funny. Still, Alice stared back at Edward half a second longer than she should have, even though his back was already turned, helping Jasper get things out of the trunk. Edward seemed to have no idea the effect that he had on women. He literally could get away with murder as long as he smiled that smoldering smile.

Alice zoomed off, giving Jasper the "call me" sign, and Edward and Jasper crossed the parking lot with Jasper's luggage. Emmett and Rosalie exited the jeep, popping the trunk on the way. The four boys began removing Rosalie's luggage from Emmett's trunk and putting it along with Jasper's in Jasper's trunk.

Rosalie strode over to me, tossing her curls and looking a little annoyed. She hooked her arm into mine and drug me inside the cafe. We located our favorite round table, which was luckily empty, even though the Raindrop was more crowded than I had ever seen it. The couple seated next to us had two extra chairs at their table, and after getting their permission, I took one and found room for it at our table. I turned to Rosalie and asked her, "So what's up?"

"Nothing, girl. Pretty sure Emmett has ideas about getting back together with Tanya at UW, so I'm really done with him. Maybe I'll meet some cute guy at State and forget all about him. Forget me though, what about you? _Edward's_ here..." she prompted me, hoping for some juicy gossip.

"I know," I answered slyly, "I drove him here." I grinned at her as her eyes widened and she leaned toward me. I continued in a rush, "I saw his house Rosalie, and it's amazing, it turns out his family is super rich or something, but Carlisle is acting SO weird, and the whole story is way too long to tell here, I'll have to tell you on the phone tonight or something." The boys were rapidly approaching, so I ended with, "by the way Rosalie, you should leave on good terms with Emmett. Tanya goes after any guy with a pulse and Emmett went on like...one date with her. He likes YOU, but you might need to make the first move. I think Emmett is shy when it comes to this sort of thing."

She pointedly looked out the window. Edward and Carlisle were on the way in, but Emmett and Jasper were still outside. Emmett had Jasper in a headlock and was whispering threats into his ear and laughing hysterically while Jasper used his free arm to tickle Emmett's waist. Rosalie cut her eyes back to me and raised an eyebrow. "I see what you mean," she said dryly.

I rolled my eyes, for Rosalie's benefit, but couldn't help smiling to myself. I was going to really miss my friends, stupid antics and all. I had never truly come out my shell until I had met all of them in high school. I was in for a lonely senior year. Emmett and Jasper finished their play fight and sauntered inside. Emmett sat down on the other side of Rosalie, and Carlisle next to him. Unsurprisingly, Edward chose to sit next to me and left a space between himself and Carlisle. As Jasper filled the last seat, a waiter appeared to take our order.

I ordered a vegetable omelet with home fries, and a glass of orange juice. Jasper and Edward also ordered omelets. Rosalie got chocolate chip pancakes, and Carlisle and Emmett, predictably, ordered the enormous combination breakfasts that had three of everything, and each paid extra for bacon _and_ sausage. Rosalie and I giggled as the boys ordered, we were never sure where they PUT it all.

Edward placed his hand casually between my shoulders and chided, "Come on girls, Seattle is a long drive. They need their sustenance!" Edward's hand lingered on my back, and I felt heat and electricity radiating through my body from the spot where he was touching me. Rosalie and Jasper were still laughing at Emmett and Carlisle, but I suddenly felt a million miles away from them. I whirled around to face Edward and found that he was already facing me. He stared deep into my eyes, and I lost all concept of time. His eyes smoldered and my heart rate spiked, and I thought that he was going to kiss me right there in the Raindrop in front of our friends and everyone. He leaned a little closer to me, and as my eyes instinctively started to close, I felt his hand drop from my back. His whole body stiffened, and his eyes grew very dark.

Edward did not pull away from me, about which I was both happy and surprised. My initial instinct to close the distance between us and kiss him was suddenly replaced by fear. I couldn't rationally explain my body's reaction, but I followed it nonetheless. I shifted in my chair and straightened up, keeping one eye on Edward's expression while I used my peripheral vision to look around for whatever 'danger' had sent my adrenaline pumping. Edward closed his eyes and when he opened them, his eyes were lighter and he looked more relaxed. He touched my arm and murmured deeply, "Don't worry," and then glanced up and continued more loudly, "our food is here!"

I felt a much deeper meaning from Edward's words. I looked quickly at our friends to see if they had noticed our little moment, but they all still appeared to be absorbed in their conversations about appetites and driving styles. They all looked up as the waiter approached with our food. Our near kiss, which seemed monumental to me, appeared to not have even caught the slightest bit of attention from my friends.

After we had all gotten our food, I dug into my omelet, suddenly starving. Silence fell over the whole table as we ate, most of our eyes on our plates. It was only then, with my eyes on my food and my mind on the near kiss with Edward, that I felt gentle pressure on my right foot. I kept my eyes low and looked up until my eyes met Jasper's, and saw him incline his head slightly to his right. Carlisle was looking directly at Edward, the anger in his eyes leaving no doubt that he had seen everything. Carlisle had warned Edward to stay away from me since he first got here, so while I still didn't know the "why" for his behavior, the "what" didn't surprise me. What shocked me was Edward's reaction-he looked at Carlisle quizzically, and then his expression relaxed for just a second-realization? The next expression on his face was unmistakable-it was one of sheer terror.

I had a mere second to observe their wordless exchange, unnoticed. Edward's eyes suddenly widened and his face became a blank mask once again. I slowly lowered my eyes back to my plate; sure that Edward had caught me watching him. In my peripheral vision I was surprised to see Edward warily eyeball Jasper, who at this point was very studiously averting his eyes away from Edward or Carlisle and concentrating on his omelet. Edward appeared unconvinced with Jasper's performance and continued to stare penetratingly at him, oblivious to the fact that I had also caught him looking like he had seen a ghost. I stole a glance at Carlisle, who was as usual staring scrutinizingly at Edward, but for once this meant I was escaping his judgmental eyes. Sliding my eyes to the left, I saw Rosalie and Emmett looking genuinely absorbed in eating and their own thoughts. The tension on the right side of the table was thick and growing thicker with each second that no one spoke.

The silence was finally broken by a loud burp. I didn't have to look to know that it was Emmett. Carlisle and Jasper busted out laughing, and Rosalie squealed, "EWWWWWW!"

We all surveyed Emmett's clean plates. Edward, Jasper and Rosalie ooohed and aahhed appropriately over how much he had eaten. Carlisle was too busy shoveling pancakes and sausages in his mouth trying to catch up to comment. I flashed a quick smile when Rosalie and Emmett looked in my direction, but kept quiet as I slowly finished my breakfast. I zoned out for the next half hour while the group told jokes and planned trips home. None of the rest of my friends seemed to have noticed Edward's weird antics. Even Jasper, who pointed out Carlisle glaring at Edward in the first place, had totally missed everything that came after. With chargrin, I realized the probable cause- no one else was as aware of Edward as I was. No one else watched him the way I did.

This is why I was the only one at the table that was not surprised when the waiter informed us that our entire bill had been taken care of. No one else had noticed that when Edward had slipped away to the bathroom that he really had passed our waiter and murmured something to him as he slipped some bills in his hand. I wasn't sure if anyone had noticed that Edward had slipped away at all. No one noticed his wink to me as he returned to the table.

I sat, studying the reactions of my friends. Rosalie and Jasper smiled and politely said their "thank you"s. I had hinted to Rosalie that Edward was rich earlier, so she was more surprised at the gesture than the means. Jasper hid any surprise he may have had well, studying the rest of our friends as I was, with an amused look in his eyes. Carlisle gave Edward a "thanks bro," and then rolled his eyes dramatically at the rest of us when Edward looked away from him. A smirk played across Edward's lips and he looked at me coyly. There was no way he could have seen Carlisle, unless he had eyes on the back of his head. I wondered at Edward's motives. I knew he had the means, and it wasn't the generosity that surprised me exactly...it was more the showing off of his money. I had only learned that he was rich this morning, and it seemed to be something he wanted to hide.

Emmett had been strangely quiet and seemed to be searching for something. Suddenly he burst out "Edward, thanks so much man! You really saved my life because I forgot my wallet!"

Edward smiled at him, this time avoiding my curious gaze. "It's no problem man, just a thank you for letting me hang out with you guys the last two weeks. It's been fun!"

We all stood up and walked out the door and across the parking lot to where Jasper, Emmett and I were parked. Rosalie and Jasper said hurried goodbyes, and promised to call, text and email tonight. Their drive was going to take more than eight hours, and it was already 1:00. As Emmett pulled me into one of his big bear hugs, Edward extended a hand to Carlisle.

"I'll miss you so much," I told Emmett.

"I know! I feel like I just got back to you and now I am leaving again," he continued, looking sad. I really would miss Emmett. Rosalie was my best friend, and Jasper was Mr. Sensitive, but Emmett was so lovable and easy to get along with. He was so trustworthy and NEVER had a hidden agenda. Emmett grabbed me in one last hug and whispered into my ear, "Don't worry, we'll be back soon. Between you and me, Carlisle and I can't cook or do laundry worth a damn!"

His voice escalated to an exclamation as he finished his aside, and Edward and Carlisle laughed. Edward extended his hand to Emmett and said, "I'll bring Bella up with me sometime when I come to Seattle and we'll all hang out there, too"

Emmett grinned, took Edward's hand and swept him into a guy hug. "I like this guy's thinking!"

Carlisle put his arm around me and we hugged, wordlessly. As we pulled away from each other he took my hand and looked me straight in the eye. He seemed to be choosing words, so I waited patiently. Finally he said "Have a good senior year, Bella. And remember, things... aren't always what they seem."

I nodded solemnly, and added "Bye Carlisle." He and Emmett climbed into the Jeep and drove off, leaving me alone with Edward. I unlocked my truck and climbed into the front seat, put the key into the ignition, but did not turn it. Instead, I turned to look at Edward, who was sitting in the passenger seat looking expectantly at me.

I pursed my lips, still processing all the events of the last two hours and comparing them with the inconsistencies in Edward's stories over the last two weeks. He paid for lunch...as if he knew Emmett had forgotten his wallet before he had said so. He seemed to react to things that were said or done "behind his back". In general, he seemed to react ahead of time and be omnipresent. He "knew" what people were thinking-that I was in Alice's way and that she had spent the night with Jasper the night before, that they were about to kiss. His strange facial expressions when we were about to kiss and when he was looking at Carlisle afterwards. Carlisle, who was his family after all, and one of the most accepting people I have ever met, couldn't stand him.

I was glad Edward lived so far out of the way, despite the extreme gas-guzzling nature of my truck. I needed some answers from him, and the long ride would give me more time to get them. Before today, I had been curious about the mystery surrounding Edward. He had been fascinating. Now, I had an obsession. There was something different about Edward Cullen, and now that I had him alone, I WOULD find out the truth.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4: INVITATIONS**

AN: A few of these lines are directly from Twilight, which I still don't own...

(Two weeks later...)

I was a week into my senior year, and all of the newness had already worn off. Forks High School was tiny, so I had already knew all of my classmates and teachers from my first three years, it was just a matter of adjusting to the new subject matter and seeing the teachers and classmates at different times of the day. I missed Rosalie, Emmett, Carlisle, and Jasper. I had a new group of friends to hang out with, but I didn't feel like myself the way I had last year.

I ate lunch with Jessica Stanley and Angela Webber from work, along with Mike Newton, Eric Yorkie, Tyler Crowley, and a few of Jessica's friends who never introduced themselves and didn't ever really speak to me. The only one I recognized was Lauren Mallory, who was notoriously mean and two-faced, so I tried to avoid her as much as possible. Angela had invited me over to sit with them the first day because she knew that my other friends had graduated and wanted to be nice to me. Mike, Eric, and Tyler were thrilled at the prospect of a new girl to talk to-novelties were so few and far between in our small town that even hanging out with a quiet classmate they had known their whole life seemed to peak their interest. Jessica continued to invite me to sit with her because she seemed pleased with all of the attention I was receiving. In particular, she confessed to me that she had a thing for Mike, and grilled me for the details of our three week relationship in seventh grade, and dissected his every word and action.

Angela and Mike were in most of my classes, and so I always had someone to sit with, but I still felt lonely. They were my favorites of my new friends. Mike was from California, and shared my dream of escaping dreary Forks to attend college there. His easygoing nature reminded me of Emmett-which was a new experience after having the super-intense Carlisle as a best guy friend. Angela was quiet, thoughtful, and unselfish, and seemed to have a lot in common with me. She was also in all advanced classes, and had been in most of my classes for all four years of high school, but our mutual shyness had prevented us from getting to know each other very well until now. Rosalie was loud, confident, and a little wild-my total opposite as a best girlfriend. Angela reminded me more of Jasper, with her sensitivity and unassuming ways.

The new friend who made me the most lonely was Edward Cullen, who didn't remind me of anyone I had ever met or even dreamed of. Maybe because he was Carlisle's cousin and while seemingly a connection to my absent best friend, he was really the reason that I had barely heard from Carlisle since he left for UW. Maybe it was because I fell a little more in love with him every time I saw him, but trusted him less and less every time he evaded telling me anything about himself. He seemed to want to know everything about me, but I thought I was pretty uninteresting. I was your average working class seventeen (eighteen in a week!) year old, bored with high school, caught in the middle between divorced parents, and had no idea what to do with the rest of my life. There were a few aspects of my life, like my family's problems, that I kept to myself, but I really had very little to hide. It was hard not to be suspicious of Edward, when he wouldn't even give me a straight answer to questions like 'where are you from' and 'what are you studying?'

Edward obviously _was_ hiding something. With his secrecy about the little stuff, I had no idea how to build up to the big questions in my mind. I remember our car ride home from the Raindrop two weeks ago, when I resolved myself to figure him out. I drove in silence most of the way home, because I had no idea how to phrase my questions. "So, why does Carlisle hate you so much anyway? He thinks your family are ritualistic cannibals, you know..." "Do you read minds or something? Because it seems like you know what people are going to say before they say it and know things that there is no possible way you could know..." Mind reader seemed like the best explanation for this, but also the least probable. Other possibilities were him being psychic, or maybe just invisible-so that he could spy on people without their knowing. Or maybe....I continued along that vane with a more reasonable possibility, he was just a super stalker.

There were no ways to ask those kind of questions. I had started out simple, asking harmless questions about his immediate family and about his studies. Edward never clammed up or refused to answer questions, but he had this extremely frustrating way of vaguely talking in circles and never really getting to the point.

The biggest lead I had gotten was when he asked about my family. I told him that I was an only child, and he responded with a sympathetic nod. When I returned the question, he replied with

_"I did have a sister, but she died just after birth. My family doesn't like to talk about it. My mother was devastated, and it only got worse because that was when Carlisle's parents stopped talking to us." _

_"That's so hard, Edward, I'm so sorry. Did his parents think that your mom like...drank caffeine or something to harm the baby?" I had asked, not wanting to accuse his mother of anything worse than drinking caffeine, but secretly wondering if it was alcohol or drugs._

"Something like that," he had answered, his mind suddenly faraway and a dead giveaway that he wasn't telling me everything. "She didn't do anything like that of course, but Carlisle's parents have their own, very good reasons for acting the way that they do-I don't want you to think badly of them at all. Life is a little more complicated than all that."

"I take it you haven't seen them since you have been in town? It's too bad since that house you are staying at is so close." I asked, trying to sound merely interested, but wondering if he would tell me who owned the house. I wondered if his family used to live here before they had had the falling out with Carlisle's parents and had never sold the house. I imagined Edward's family hardly needed the money-but the random house still struck me as a little strange.

"It's not as serious as all of that, Bella," Edward said reassuringly, "They don't exactly invite me to dinner every evening, but we've spoken since I have been here."  
  
_They were such vague, unsatisfying answers, but yet, I could detect slight hints of pain in Edward's voice when he spoke of the falling out between families, and saw his jaw set in determination._

As I mulled over the new questions, Edward had changed the subject to something mundane and pointedly refused to return to that subject throughout the rest of the ride. At that point, I only had reached one conclusion-whatever Edward's supposed school/internship reason was to be in Forks was just a front. He was not just here by accident or assignment, but he had come here for a reason.

I had found myself hoping that at the end of that ride home that he would try to kiss me again, if that was even what he had tried to do at the cafe. I didn't get that kiss, and as with every single interaction I had with Edward, it left me disappointed but still hopeful for more.

_As I shifted my truck into park, I looked at Edward. An awkward silence fell over us, and he did not immediately climb out. I looked into his eyes to see if he was thinking the same thing that I was. He met my gaze for a second, and even inclined his head a fraction of an inch toward me before snapping open his seat belt and looking away._

"Do you know how to get out of here, Bella?" he asked me, his voice sounding rough.

"Yeah, I think leaving here will be much easier than finding this place again," I said to him, wondering if my hint that I wanted to come back was too subtle. He was a man, after all. You pretty much had to hit them over the head with a brick wall if you wanted to get a point across.

"Well, I don't think you will be needing to find your way back here anytime soon," Edward replied, his voice not nearly as unkind as his words, "so you should be good. I'll see you around, Bella," he added as he climbed down from the truck.

I blinked at him and tried not to let the tears rapidly forming in my eyes spill over. "Yeah, I'll see you around sometime."

Edward had his hand poised to slam my truck door shut, but poked his head back through to say, "I'll definitely see you. Sooner than you think." A smile played across he lips as he slammed the truck door and walked up to the house. He only looked back as he reached the front door and waved at me with a smile before disappearing inside the house that I had only ever seen from the outside.

I had backed out of the driveway and made it halfway back to the main road before the tears in my eyes finally spilled over. Edward seemed to reject me on so many levels, while managing to still string me along. At least I didn't have to wait long to see what he meant about seeing me sooner than I expected.

Last Tuesday, on the second day of school, I had pulled into the parking lot of school, and found my way to my five classes before lunch as I had the day before. I walked with Angela and Mike to the cafeteria and sat with them as I had the day before, and had eaten my lunch quietly while Jessica gabbed on about classes and boys, trying to nod in the appropriate places. About halfway through the lunch period, she suddenly grew silent and stared intensely in one direction. The other girls at our table followed suit.

"Oh. My. God." Jessica exclaimed. "Who is that gorgeous guy!? He must be new-I've never seen him before."

I turned my head in the direction hers was turned and immediately saw the hot guy that she was fixated on. It was Edward.

In spite of how I felt after our last interaction, I smiled at the sight of him. This was not lost on Jessica.

"You know that guy? Who is he?" she gushed.

I felt myself blushing as all the eyes at the lunch table turned to me. "Yeah, that's Edward, he's Carlisle Cullen's cousin," I told them.

As if he somehow heard me-although at that point I wouldn't be at all surprised if he had- Edward turned his head toward our side of the cafeteria. As he spotted me, he waved and smiled.

Jessica, Angela, and the rest of the girls at the table swiveled around to look at me with wide eyes. Even Lauren lifted her eyes from her cell phone and glanced at me with interest.

"He's staying here for the semester for some sort of internship, but...I'm not sure what he's doing here..." I explained, wondering aloud why he was here. "He goes to UW," I amended quietly to quell the quizzical looks I was receiving.

"Ooooh, he's a college guy?!? Well, he certainly seemed happy to see you, Bella..." Jessica gushed.

"Hmmmm," I mumbled distractedly. I looked back toward where Edward had been, but he had disappeared. I squinted and looked around, but Angela spotted him first.

"Oh oh Bella, he's coming over here to talk to you," she said, nudging me and inclining her head.

I looked in the direction that she was pointing, and saw that Edward was already halfway over to our table. I felt the color rise up in my cheeks. After the last time I saw Edward, I was apprehensive about seeing him again, especially in front of all of my friends. I only had a moment to compose myself.

"Bella," he said quietly in greeting. He glanced quickly around the lunch table and brought his eyes back to me. His lips were fighting a smile, but his eyes were intensely smoldering as usual.

In spite of all of my better instincts, I found myself smiling. "Hey Edward. What are you doing here?" I blurted out. This elicited a smug look from Mike, but a disapproving look from Jessica.

Edward smiled. "I'm Edward Cullen," he introduced himself to the table. "I'm Carlisle's cousin, and Bella has been so tolerant of me following her around the last few weeks. I don't have any other friends, so I am sure she has found me quite annoying."

Jessica, Angela, and Lauren all extended their hands and introduced themselves. I narrowed my eyes at Edward behind their back, and he smirked at me as he shook hands with my friends.

I couldn't help but be jealous as Jessica, Angela, and Lauren flirted with Edward. As Edward laughed at a joke Lauren told, which I highly doubt had been funny, I sighed and turned my head abruptly in the other direction in a huff. I found myself face to face with Eric Yorkie, who had taken advantage of the girls' movement to slide up next to me.

"Bella, I wanted to pick your brain. I have to present some ideas for Homecoming themes at the student council meeting this afternoon, and I'm totally dry. I know how smart you are and I thought I would ask you for your input. Also, any help you could give me with music would be appreciated..." he rambled on nervously. I only half-listened, keeping one eye on Edward the whole time. He met my gaze, and then cut his eyes over to Eric, who was staring expectantly at me. He was waiting for some sort of response from me.

I panicked, but was quickly jarred by loud ringing. I was quite literally saved by the bell. My class was right next to the cafeteria, so I didn't need to hurry, but I still made a quick escape. As I rounded the corner toward the cafeteria door, Edward materialized next to me and he smoothly took my books out of my arms.

I opened my mouth to protest, but figured it would be futile. "Are you walking me to class?" I asked him.

"Well, it wouldn't be very gentlemanly to let you carry your own books, would it?" he chided.

I stopped outside the classroom, which was the first on the hallway. "It wasn't such a long walk," I said, turning to face him. "I guess you made some new friends, so you won't have to follow me around anymore."

His eyes twinkled as his lips fought a smile. "I'll be here every Tuesday and Thursday meeting with Dr. Molina as part of my internship. He's my on site adviser," Edward explained. "So you will just have to brace yourself, I'll be following you around all semester. Although," he continued, "it's too bad I have to follow you, because your friends like me so much better than you do."

I narrowed my eyes. I wasn't sure whether his teasing was flirting or now, but I followed my instinct. "Well Edward, they don't know you like I do. Soon enough they will get tired of you, and you will come crawling back to me." It wasn't entirely untrue. I hardly knew Edward at all, but unlike my friends, I knew just how slow and painful the process of getting Edward to open up was.

"While I am sure your friends Mike and Eric would love it if I ignored you, I am not afraid to admit that I enjoy your company. In fact, now that I know when your lunch is, I may just have to show up early on Thursday."

The warning bell rang, and he handed me my books. He leaned in closer, and I felt my heart skip a beat. When his face was six inches from mine, he lowered his voice and purred, "I'll see you around, Bella."

I didn't hear a word the biology teacher said next period.

Two weeks later, I was walking to lunch on Tuesday, pretending to pay attention to whatever Jessica was telling me about the upcoming Homecoming Dance. Internally, I was kicking myself for being surprised at Edward Cullen's hot-cold act. I had not so much as caught a glimpse of him over the last two weeks. I had seen Dr. Molina's office door closed on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons when Edward said he was going to be there, and I saw a shiny silver Volvo in the parking lot when I was leaving those afternoons. I had identified that car as his, Forks High School was small after all and that was the only car that showed up only those afternoons. I knew he was there, I even imagined that I felt his presence, but I hadn't seen hide nor hair of my bronze haired enigma.

As was my routine on those days, I scanned the cafeteria for signs of him, but came up with nothing. Jessica had brought her lunch, so we split off as I headed for the lunch line and she headed for the table. A second later, Mike silently joined me in line. I said hello to him, and he nodded back at me.

"Everything okay?" I asked him, wondering why he wasn't his usual chatty self.

"Yeah," he said, smiling wanly. "Listen, I was wondering," he started, and for totally unrelated reasons, my heart stopped. Across the cafeteria, talking animately with our assistant principal, was Edward Cullen. I felt lightheaded, and realized I had missed part of what Mike was saying. "so I was thinking, you know just for old times sake, that it would be cool if we went together," Mike said to me.

I felt a pit in my stomach. I hadn't paid attention, but I was pretty sure that Mike had just asked me to the Homecoming dance. Not only was dancing a collossally bad idea for me, but I was sure that it would anger Jessica and give Mike the wrong idea. He had been paying a little too much attention to me recently. I stole another glance at Edward and quickly improvised. "I'm actually going to be out of town that weekend-I promised Emmett and Carlisle that I would come visit them at UW." I had promised them I would come visit soon-it was suddenly the perfect time to go.

"Can't you go some other weekend? It is homecoming, after all....they should be coming back here to visit you!" Mike protested

"Sorry, the plans have been set," I said shortly, annoyed with the less than graceful way Mike took the rejection. "You should ask Jessica," I added to assuage my guilt, "I am sure she would love to go with you."

"Yeah, okay," Mike mumbled and turned away from me in the line.

I took my time paying, and grabbing napkins before heading to the table, to give Mike a little space.

As I was carefully arranging a fork and spoon on my tray, I was startled by a musical voice next to me, "Good afternoon, beautiful". Even his voice had an effect on me, as if we had known each other my whole life instead of just a few weeks.

I turned to face him, but kept my eyes closed, it was easier to speak my mind that way. "Where did you come from?! And do you think that if you tell me I am beautiful, that I will forget how I haven't heard anything from you for two weeks?"

I opened my eyes to see how that had landed. Edward looked amused. "Well, technically, your name means 'beautiful' in Italian-and in Portugese, so I was just calling a rose a rose, but I won't do it again if it upsets you," he teased.

I was impressed with the subtle Shakespeare reference, but I couldn't let that sway me. "So we are friends again now?" I finally asked, an unintentional note of petulance in my voice.

His lips twitched, fighting a smile. "No, not really," he admitted.

I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly through my nose, aware that I was gritting my teeth. He waited patiently.

"Then what do you want, Edward?" I had resisted looking at his eyes throughout the whole exchange, but I finally met his gaze. His face was very serious.

"I'm sorry," he said, sounding very sincere, "I know I'm being very rude. But it's better this way, really."

"I don't know what you mean," I said, my voice guarded.

"It's better if we're not friends," he explained. "Trust me."

I narrowed my eyes. I had heard THAT before.

"It's too bad you didn't figure that out earlier," I hissed through my teeth, "BEFORE you decided to spend an entire semester in my teeny tiny town coming to my high school twice a week. I wouldn't want to make your life so miserable."

My harsh tone had caught him off guard. "Bella, I'm not sure what you mean. You most certainly don't make my life miserable, and I'm not sure how you could even if you tried."

"Well, obviously you hate having to see me. For whatever reason, I'm terrible company for you."

"Bella," he said softly, his eyes smoldering, "You think I hate having to see you?"

"Well obviously, seeing as you think its better if we aren't friends!" I snapped.

"You don't know anything," he replied and walked away. He was definitely mad.

I turned my back away from his retreating figure and stalked off to the lunch table without looking back.

I didn't speak a word to anyone during lunch, and the expression on my face stopped anyone from trying to draw me into their conversations. I was so distracted by my confrontation with Edward that it only occurred to me as the bell rang that the whole table must have found out that I turned Mike down for the homecoming dance, which could also explain their silence toward me.

I escaped off to my next class, almost running there. There were so many people I wanted to avoid right now. I couldn't wait for the day to end. As I entered the hallway, I saw a tall, dark figure leaning against the wall next to the door of my classroom, and I almost had a stroke. Then I realized it was just Eric, and continued to approach him.

'Hey, Eric," I said, reaching the door of the classroom. He was one of the few safe people from the lunch table who wouldn't be angry with me right now.

"Hi, Bella."

"What's up?" I asked him, shifting the weight of my books from one arm to another. I was too preoccupied to notice the uncomfortable edge in his voice, so his next words surprised me.

"Um, I was just wondering....if you would go to the homecoming dance with me?" His voice broke on the last word.

"Oh!" I was startled, but quickly recovered. "That's nice of you to ask me, but I am going to be in Seattle that whole weekend visiting Emmett and Carlisle."

He took the news more stoicly than Mike had. "Well, maybe next time," he said quietly.

I nodded, but hoped he didn't mean that literally. He mumbled a goodbye and slouched off back toward the cafeteria.

Just then Edward walked by with a huge smirk across his stupid perfect face. This day could not end fast enough.

Finally, the last class of the day ended. Dodging Mike's sullen stares and Angela's worried ones, I weaved through the hallways towards the front door of the school. I had almost made it when I heard someone calling my name from behind me. A quick glance in my peripheral vision told me that the voice belonged to Tyler Crowley. I hesitated for half a second, but then pretended that I hadn't heard him. Unlike Mike and Eric, who showed interest by being overly friendly, Tyler had very aggressively pursued me this year. He had moved here at the beginning of high school, and hadn't known me since Kindergarten the way Mike and Eric had-therefore he wasn't nearly as respectful of my personal space. I quickened my pace. The front doors were in sight now, only 100 feet away and closing in fast. 90 feet. 80 feet. "Hey Bella! Wait up!" Tyler continued behind me, keeping pace. I stupidly looked back to see if he was gaining on me, and then crashed into something solid, dropping everything I was carrying in the process.

I looked up to see what I had crashed into, looked right into Edward's piercing blue eyes. OF course it was him-that was just how my day was going. "Need some help?" he asked me, smiling, as he swiftly stacked my books for me.

Despite everything that happened earlier, he seemed sincere. "Ummm," I said, panicking as Tyler drew closer, trying to think of how to convey the 'save me' message to Edward. My eyes were frantic and I looked at Tyler and then back at Edward, and started, "that guy, he w-" It was as far as I got before Tyler caught up to us.

"Bella!" he exclaimed in greeting. "I was calling you! Didn't you hear me?"

"Sorry, guess not," I mumbled in excuse.

Tyler glanced from me to Edward, and then back at me again. "Am I interrupting something? I wanted to talk to you Bella, but I could just call you later."

I saw my out. I gave Edward a quick look. "Actually, we," I started, but then Edward cut me off.

"No, I was just leaving, she's all yours," Edward said, shooting me a wink over Tyler's head as he walked away. I glowered at his retreating. If he didn't want anything to do with me, why did he seem to enjoy my torment so much?

"Walk with me, Bella," Tyler said, placing his hand on the small of my back and guiding me towards the doors. I glared one last moment at Edward, and then turned to Tyler and sighed, uncomfortable with him touching me. This time, I was unsurprised by what he said next.

"Will you come with me to the homecoming dance?" he asked, sounding much more confident than Mike or Eric had earlier.

"I'm not going to be in town, Tyler," my voice a little sharp. I reminded myelf that despite his inability to take a hint, it was not his fault that Mike and Eric had used up my quota of patience for the day. And it was none of their faults that they would never have a chance with me because I was in love with someone who apparently wished I didn't exist.

"Yeah, Mike said that," he admitted.

The last of my patience evaporated. "Then why did you-" I started, but he cut me off, holding the door open for me.

"I thought you were probably just letting him down easy," he shrugged. Okay, it was completely his fault.

"Nope, sorry Tyler, really going to be out of town," I told him, trying not to let the annoyance be too obvious in my voice.

"It's cool, we still have senior prom," he said and sauntered away in the opposite direction before I could protest. My jaw had literally dropped in shock.

After I recovered, I powerwalked to my truck. At this point, I had rejected every boy at my lunch table, which would have simultaneously annoyed every girl at my lunch table that I had been asked by said boys. At this point there was probably nobody that would dare to speak to me, but that didn't change my desire to get home as fast as possible.

I reached my truck and started fumbling in my purse for my keys. I found them and straightened up to unlock the door, and gasped. Edward Cullen was right next to me, casually leaning against the side of my truck. I lost it.

"Seriously!?" I asked him. "How do you appear out of thin air like that? And haven't you done enough for today?"

"Bella, it's not my fault that you are exceptionally unobservant. But I understand that someone as popular as you wouldn't notice me as much," he teased.

If only he knew that I didn't notice much of anything except for him lately. "Aren't you supposed to be pretending I don't exist, not irritating me to death?" I asked him.

"I'm not pretending you don't exist," he said, his expression amused, "and as for irritating you to death, I certainly am sorry that you find me so irritating. In fact, that is why I try to leave you alone. I certainly didn't want to take you away from your friend back there."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You really don't understand women at all, do you?"

"Most women, yes. You....well, you always surprise me, Bella." Hearing him say my name made my body react in ways that it shouldn't. I hated it and loved it at the same time. I was sure that his insistence that 'it was better if we weren't friends' was probably because he could tell how I felt about him, and that he didn't feel the same way. This was not his fault, but annoyed me all the same.

"Well Edward, let me educate you. I don't like that guy, I was trying to escape before he caught me, and he just asked me to the homecoming dance, and I had to tell him no, which I hate doing. I was trying to get you to help me with that, and I felt like that was obvious, but I guess that was a _surprise_ to you!"

"I'm sorry Bella," he said, feigning innocence, "I knew that was what he wanted, but I didn't know that you felt that way. I knew you had been turning boys down all day, so I figured you were just waiting for the right invitation. I thought that might be it."

I glared at him. Words were not enough. I wanted to hit him, but I figured I would probably just end up hurting my hand, while he continued to mock me.

"Ugh!" I exclaimed, and stamped my foot.

He smiled even wider. "Did you just stamp your foot? I thought girls only did that on TV!"

I jammed my key into the lock and wrenched my truck door open. "Well Edward, you irritate real live girls enough to stamp their feet. You are probably the only guy in the universe who that has happened to, so I can understand why you weren't expecting that. Glad I could _surprise_ you some more!"

Edward laughed as I climbed up into my truck seat. I was exhilarated. Edward was driving me crazy, in all ways a person could be driven crazy. I was giving it back to him, which satisfied the part of me that was annoyed, and the part of me that loved flirting with him. And he seemed to be eating up every minute of it.

Edward held the truck door open and looked at me, his expression soft. "Well Bella, before you go for the day, I actually wanted to ask you something."

I looked coyly at him. "Fine, what did you want to ask?"

"I was wondering if, in two weeks, you know, the weekend of the homecoming dance-"

"REALLY? Are you trying to be funny?" I demanded.

"Would you please allow me to finish?" he said, his voice even but his face wickedly amused.

I rolled my eyes and motioned for him to continue.

"I believe your excuse for not going was that you were going to Seattle to see Emmett and Carlisle. Was that just something that you said to gently let down your many admirers, or did you actually want to go?"

"Ummm, at the time, just an excuse. But I probably will go, so that I wasn't lying to them," I answered truthfully, continuing thoughtfully, "besides, I did want to get up to visit them sometime soon. I miss them a lot. And Jasper and Rosalie."

"You are such a nice person, Bella," said Edward.

I looked at him, confused.

"No, seriously," he continued, "You didn't owe them anything other than a no thank you, much less a TRUE excuse. But I see that you were worried about hurting their feelings, and making sure your friend Jessica didn't get her feelings hurt either. You are so nice it is no wonder all of the boys are in love with you."

I blushed. "You keep saying that like there is some deeper reason they are all infatuated-I wouldn't say in love-with me, when its really just because I didn't hang out with them the last few years, so its sort of like I am a novelty."

Edward braced his right hand on top of the truck and leaned closer to me, his eyes burning into mine. "Bella, you don't see yourself clearly at all, do you?"

I could feel my heart and breathing pick up with his proximity, and while I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes, lean in and kiss him, experience with Edward had taught me better than that. I took a deep breath...even his sweet scent was intoxicating. I closed my eyes for a second and leaned back, away from him.

"Not sure what you mean by that, but was that all you wanted to ask me?" I glanced over his shoulder and saw that the school parking lot was deserted. Our conversation had taken longer than I thought.

Edward pursed his lips and glanced down at the ground before looking back at me. I had seen versions of this look three times today, but nothing was that simple with Edward. "Well, since you are really going to Seattle that weekend, I was wondering if you wanted a ride."

That was unexpected. "With you?" I clarified.

"Obviously," he answered slowly. There was something behind his smile, but I didn't know what. He added, "I did promise Carlisle that I would bring you to visit, anyway. I would hate to think what he would do to me if I let you go to Seattle by yourself."

I snorted reflexively. "Like you care what Carlisle thinks."

He smiled his crooked smile. His eyes were soft as he said, "I care a little about what Carlisle thinks. But I mostly care about you, and keeping you safe. You could stay in my apartment if you didn't want to stay in the boys dorm. It would be fun to go together. Besides, I'm not sure your truck is up to the trip," he added smugly.

"My truck works just fine, thank you very much for your concern Edward Cullen!" I used his full name and felt a thrill surge through me. "And honestly," I continued, I can't keep up with your mood swings. I thought you said you didn't want to be my friend."

"I said it would be better if we didn't get close, not that I didn't want to be."

"Oh thanks, now I understand perfectly!" I snapped. I wasn't flirting now. I was just annoyed.

Leave it to Edward to keep me on my toes. He leaned even closer, his eyes blazing. "It would be...prudent for us not to get too attached," he explained, "but I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Bella."

Everything about him was intense. I wasn't misinterpreting anything here. I tried to remember how to breathe.

"Will you go with me to Seattle?" he asked, still smoldering.

I was afraid that anything I might say would ruin the moment, so I just nodded.

He smiled, and then shook his head briefly. "This is way more complicated than I thought," he muttered quickly under his breath. I wasn't sure if he meant for me to hear that. "Great," he said, reaching out to gently touch my arm, "it's a date."

He gently closed my truck door, and walked away towards his Volvo, stopping to wave as he unlocked the door.

I waved back and drove home, on cloud nine for the whole rest of the day.

AN: hey guys, I know this is a lot of filler and that there were lots of very familiar lines :). None of the other chapters will be nearly this similar, I promise! I just really like the dynamic shift between Edward and Bella that SM had in this chapter, and I couldn't really improve much on it…

Coming up in Chapter 5.....

_He walked toward me, with an expression of intense fury. His jaw was set and the fingers of his left hand were clenched tightly around my vial of blood. "Oh Isabella Swan," he singsonged, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "I. Know. Your. SECRET!"_

My heart instantly started beating double-time. I only had one secret from him, and it was definitely the only thing that would have made him this angry. Nearly two months had gone by, and I was positive there was no way that he would have been able to find out from taking my blood. A wave of nausea hit me and I felt weak at the knees as I considered a new possibility. There was no way that he would know my secret from my blood test, UNLESS...


End file.
